{"id":468,"date":"2011-07-19T16:06:17","date_gmt":"2011-07-19T15:06:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.travelhouseuk.co.uk\/?p=468"},"modified":"2026-06-15T09:26:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T08:26:39","slug":"tour-to-the-citadel-of-damascus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelhouseuk.co.uk\/news\/travel-insight\/tour-to-the-citadel-of-damascus.htm","title":{"rendered":"Tour To The Citadel Of Damascus"},"content":{"rendered":"

The city of Jasmine or Damascus<\/strong> is the largest and the capital city of Syria that houses many ancient and historical sites and is very famous for the antediluvian bulwarked Citadel <\/strong>also known as Qalaat Dimashq which is declared as the World Heritage Site by UNESCO. To have the most remarkable and distinguished holiday break take cheap flights to Damascus <\/strong>and you will be mesmerized to see this antiquated monument.<\/p>\n

The old Citadel was first built up by Atsiz bin Uvak-Turkman assailant who proved himself to be the Caesar of the city but its construction was finished under the supervision of Tutush 1 who was the brother of Malik Shah(Seljuq Sultan) and the new Citadel was completed by Al-Adil who started a wide repairing programme for the medieval. From 1886 further rebuilding works are carried out by numerous foreign and Syrian missions.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s Citadel is situated in the north-western side of Damascus between the gates Bab al-Jabiyah and Bab al-Faradis. It is very distinctive as compared to other heighted and elevated Arabic buildings because it is built on a ground level. The Citadel controls the flow of the river Barada which flows towards the northern side and it guarded the fortified palace from enemy attack. More protection is offered by the canal Nahr Aqrabani that flows directly under the northern wall and the hydraulic system that was made in Al-Adil\u2019s reign regulates the water circulation in Damascus. The citadel raised in Seljuq\u2019s time period covers an area of 690 by 430 feet. The walls and towers of the Citadel are made with volcanic and carbonate rocks.<\/p>\n

Towers<\/span><\/strong>– It is composed of 12 towers which are linked with each other and are preserved with their actual heights that are between 49 and 82 feet. The southern towers have L-shape whereas the northern ones are square. All the remaining have rectangular shapes which lie parallel to Citadel fortifications. All of them are crowned with a wall like barrier fitted out with arrow loops and Machicolation.<\/p>\n

Curtain Walls<\/span><\/strong>– These are the connecting walls for the Citadel towers, those which connect the central towers have the height of 33 feet and the wall which joins the north-western towers have the height of 43 metres. On the southern sides, walls are preserved with their earliest heights of 38 feet and width of 12-16 feet. There are concaved galleries inside that granted speedy access to different areas of Citadel.<\/p>\n

Gates<\/span><\/strong>-Locating on the west, east and north sides, the Citadel has three gates amongst which the two belongs to Al-Adil era and whereas the third one western gate belongs to the new period. The Iron Gate<\/strong> or Bab al Hadid was constructed on the military basis and was constructed from 1210-1212 and near to it lies the square hall where an oddly shaped dome is held by four pillars. The eastern one was built from 1213-1215 and is the one that opens in the region of Damascus that is encircled by the city walls. The third and the western gate dates back to Baibars <\/strong>reign and it has a straight path contrary to the other gates.<\/p>\n

The Citadel is a magnificent monument that has acted as a bastion for centuries and you must take a trip to this land of historical buildings. The climate of Damascus is the typical Mediterranean with very low rainfall. The best time to visit this ancient city is spring when it is charming and pleasant. So pack up your bags and cameras and take a trip to Damascus<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The city of Jasmine or Damascus is the largest and the capital city of Syria that houses many ancient and historical sites and is very famous for the antediluvian bulwarked Citadel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_has_post_settings":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[122,123],"hashtags":[],"class_list":["post-468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-travel-insight","tag-damascus","tag-syria"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t